


Like a Fairy Tale

by SimTea



Category: Bleach
Genre: Cinderella - Freeform, Fluff, M/M, Male Cinderella, Mushy, Not very original, this is just fulfilling some of my fantasies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-03 06:32:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8701192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimTea/pseuds/SimTea
Summary: It's Cinderella… the Bleach version. I absolutely love Disney's Cinderella and I love the pairing of Grimmjow and Ichigo, so I thought it was high time I made this. The characters are a bit OOC, meaning that Ichigo is a bit softer and Grimmjow is less of a dick. I hope you enjoy it!





	1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time in a faraway land there was a tiny kingdom. Peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition. Here, in a stately chateau, there lived a widowed gentleman and his little son, Ichigo.

Although he was a kind and devoted father, and gave his beloved child every luxury and comfort, still he felt that Ichigo needed a mother's care. And so, he married again, choosing for his second wife, a women of good family, with two daughters just Ichigo's age. By name, Orihime and Rukia.

It was upon the untimely death of this good man, however, that the stepmother's true nature was revealed, cold, cruel and bitterly jealous of Ichigo's charm and beauty. She was grimly determined to forward the interests of her own two awkward daughters.

Thus, as time went by, the chateau fell into disrepair. For the family fortunes were squandered upon the vain and selfish stepsisters, while Ichigo was abused, humiliated, and finally forced to become a servant in his own house.

And yet, through it all, Ichigo remained ever gentle and kind. For with each dawn, he found new hope that someday his dreams of happiness would come true.

* * *

A pair of bright bluebirds chirped happily as they flew upward towards the closed curtains of a window in a high tower. They were on a mission. A mission to wake a certain someone. A certain someone who was definitely not a morning person.

Pulling the dull green curtains open, the bluebirds flew inside. Sunlight poured into the small, poorly furnished room. A rough single bed being the most noticeable feature. Landing on the edge of the bed, Mizuiro turned to Keigo, who chirped in response. Mizuiro nodded as they began their mission.

The person sprawled out on the bed had their pillow tightly secured over their head. Their legs were thrown out at random angles, and a sliver of orange hair peeked out from under the pillow. Mizuiro flew over to the fluffy object and motioned Keigo over to a gap he found. Keigo darted in and began to chirp loudly.

A soft voice grumbled from under the pillow and the gap was closed, forcing Keigo to fly out of the little cave. Keigo chattered angrily only to have the voice groan. Mizuiro twittered loudly at him to try again.

Suddenly, a pair of fingers crept up behind Mizuiro and flicked his tail lightly. Mizuiro shrieked, leaping away from the surprise attack. Keigo followed, laughing. Mizuiro glared at him, obviously not finding the situation as amusing.

The pillow finally slid down to reveal the occupant of the bed. Disheveled orange hair fell around his fair face in spikes. Plump red lips laughed at his revenge, and amusement flashed in his chocolate colored eyes at the sight of the birds.

"Well, serves you right, spoiling people's best dreams," a musical voice scolded. The two blue birds flew to the window to point out the rising sun, chirping excitedly. Ichigo took in the morning with kind eyes, "Yes, I know it's a lovely morning, but… it was a lovely dream too."

Keigo twittered out a question to the beautiful young man.

"What kind of dream?" Ichigo clarified and Keigo nodded. A stunning smile curved onto Ichigo's full lips as he shook his head. "Na-uh, can't tell."

Keigo, unhappy with the useless answer, chirped angrily. Ichigo let out a sweet chuckle, "Why? Because if you tell a wish, it won't come true."

He would never tell a soul, but singing was one of the few things he found comfort in these days. So even with his small audience, he wanted to share a song, "And after all, a dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep."

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair as other neighboring birds came poured into the room to listen, "In dreams you will lose your heartaches. Whatever you wish for you keep. Have faith in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through."

Roused by Ichigo's voice, the other occupants of his room woke up. A tall mouse dressed in a white shirt stumbled out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Ishida smiled as he looked up at Ichigo.

Toshiro, a small mouse, awoke in his bed and groggily pushed his blanket off. He stretched out his tail and was shocked to see a knot in it. With a sigh, he set to work to untangling it.

Ichigo continued to sing to the assembly of creatures that were forming, "No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true."

A loud dong from the palace clock made everybody in the room jump. "Oh that clock, Old kill-joy," Ichigo protested as he got out of his bed.

The clock continued to ring its loud bell, "I hear you. Come on you say, time to start another day."

He sighed and looked at all his little friends, "Even he orders me around," he said as he stomped over to the window in anger. The mice and birds frowned at the clock, daring it to keep ringing.

Ichigo sighed, but with a soft smile of reassurance he continued, "Well, there is one thing. They can't order me to stop dreaming. And perhaps someday…"

He trailed off and looked out his window to stare at the sprawled out kingdom, "The dream that I wish," he sang softly, "Will come true…"

With the clocks interruption pushed to the back of his mind, Ichigo waltzed over to his bed and haphazardly tried to make it. However, as soon as he moved away, a flock of birds swooped in to fix his mess. Some fluffed the pillow before straightening it, others picked up the blanket and corrected it, not caring about Ichigo's sloppy work.

While humming, Ichigo walked over to his dressing screen. He stripped his sleeping clothes off and hung them over the top of the screen.

A pair of birds darted towards a bowl of crystal clear water, carrying a large and dry yellow sponge. They dropped the sponge in the water and waited for it to absorb most of the liquid. When it was completely soaked they picked it up again, or tried to at least. A helping handful of other birds dived down to help carry the large, and now heavy, sponge towards Ichigo.

Ichigo swore loudly as the birds twisted the sponge in their claws, spilling the cold water over his head and body. He scrubbed quickly before drying off. He moved over to where his clothes were waiting for him. His poor excuse for clothing was a threadbare white shirt with a pair of plain worn-out brown capris pants. He tugged them on quickly before tying on a plain cream colored apron. As awkward as it was, it did a good job acting as a much needed towel.

Rushing over to the dresser, Ichigo picked up a brush and ran it through his hair half-heartedly, while a trio of female mice shook their head at it. He rolled his eyes at them with a small smile. His hair was one thing that he never tried to tame because he knew it would be of no use.

Commotion by the door caught Ichigo's eyes. Three mice scampered towards him, shrieking at the top of their tiny lungs. Ichigo knelt down quickly, "What is it?" he asked. Ishida squealed, pointing at the door.

"New mouse," he cried, "New mouse in da house."

"A new mouse?" Ichigo clarified as he rose to his feet.

After a short pause, Ichigo let out a soft laugh, "Well where is he?"

"In the trap," Ishida yelled.

In shock and horror Ichigo replied, "The Trap? Why didn't you say so sooner?" Ichigo dashed to his door, threw it open and rushed out. He flew down the rickety stairs, ignoring the creaks and groans. He hurried to the small cylinder shaped trap that was lying in the corner at the bottom of the stairs, and opened the end gently.

Peeking inside, Ichigo's heart trembled at the sight of the big mouse pressing itself against the back of the cage, obviously terrified, "The poor things scared to death. Ishida, maybe you better explain things to him?"

Ishida looked up at Ichigo and gave a quick nod. He walked into the trap at a slow pace making sure not to scare the big mouse any further, but the muscly rodent raised his fists in warning, preparing for a fight. Ishida smiled at him worry free.

Ichigo couldn't hear what the slender mouse was saying but it seemed to calm the other mouse quite a bit. Ishida led him out to Ichigo who welcomed him with open arms.

"Now for a name…" Ichigo mused, "I know. How about Chad."

Ishida nudged his new friend with a grin. Chad looked up at Ichigo and accepted the name with a small nod. Ichigo smiled at the mouse before rising. "Now I've got to hurry. See that he keeps out of trouble Ishida, and don't forget to warn him about the cat."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it, the first chapter of Bleach Cinderella. I honestly adore Disney's Cinderella and I want to keep this story as close to it as possible, with a few minor changes here and there. It may not be very original but I still think it's going to be a lot of fun. I hope you all like it and thank you for reading. Oh, and if you feel like there is anything I can improve on, I'm all ears!


	2. Chapter 2

Ichigo took a deep breath as he strode down the stairs from his attic tower to the second floor of the house. He tip toed over to a set of curtains and tugged at a rope to open them. Light poured into the hallway before he turned around to approach the third bedroom door.

Ichigo slowly opened the door, letting a bar of sunlight fall into the room. The light crept past Ichigo's Stepmother's bed and fell onto a pedestal. The pedestals soul purpose was to be a bed for a signal black cat who was awoken by the morning sun. He flicked his tail and looked up towards Ichigo with big black eyes.

“Come here cat, come on," Ichigo called in a whisper.

The cat rose and stretched at a leisurely pace, before turning around, completely disregarding Ichigo’s command. Ichigo's eyes narrowed and he hissed out, "Byakuya, Come here."

Byakuya leapt to his feet, glaring at the orange haired man. He stuck his nose high in the air before walking over to Ichigo. He sauntered slowly out the door, making sure to take his time.

Ichigo look down at the prideful yet pompous cat and made sure that the bedroom door hit Byakuya on his way out. Byakuya glared up at the orange haired boy, who was completely ignoring him. Ichigo made his way towards the stairs that led to the main floor and quietly walked down them. Byakuya followed, with his nose still high in the air, pretending not to care.

“I’m sorry if your highness objects to and early breakfast. It’s certainly not my idea to feed you first… It’s orders, now come on,” and with that Ichigo opened the doors to the kitchen.

He let Byakuya in first but the cat stopped right in front of the stairs, forcing Ichigo go around him. Ichigo gave a glare to Byakuya but continued on his way. He walked past a large dog lying on a rug to another set of doors, except theses had two parts, a top and bottom, and it led to the back yard which housed a small farm area.

He opened the door to allow light to fill the room. The sun illuminated the large dog lying on the rug as it wriggled its legs and whined due to a dream. The dog had brown fur that glowed red in the sunlight.

"Renji,” called Ichigo, but he got no reply. “Renji," Ichigo called a bit louder the second time and that seemed to do the trick. The dog jumped a little bit as he was startled from his dream, but when he realized somebody had called for him, he looked towards Ichigo and slowly started to wag his tail.

"Dreaming again?" Ichigo chuckled as he knelt down and scratched behind Renji’s ears.

"Chasing Byakuya?” Renji nodded happily.

"Catch him this time?" Renji nodded again.

Ichigo sternly scolded him, "That's bad." Renji froze, staring up at Ichigo with wide eyes. Behind him on the stairs, Byakuya snickered.

“Suppose they heard you up stairs, you know the orders. So if you don’t want to lose a nice warm bed, you better get rid of those dreams,” as Ichigo was saying this he picked up three teapots, three teacups, three teacup plates, three bowls, and set them all on three trays that were stacked in front of him. Then he picked everything up and walked over to a table and began to organize them. One teapot, One teacup on a plate, and one bowl for porridge were on each tray, all the while, he continued to talk to Renji.

“Know how?” Renji shook his head.

“Just learn to like cats,” Renji snarled at the idea.

"No, I mean it. Byakuya has his good points too." Byakuya sauntered over to sit in front of Renji, leering at him the entire way.

"For one thing he…" Ichigo paused when he honestly could not think of anything. "Well sometimes he… hm… there must be something good about him.” Byakuya glared up at the orange haired boy but Renji just could not hold in his laugh.

All of a sudden Byakuya smirked at an idea, it was guaranteed to get Renji in trouble. He slid under Renji, extended his claws and scratched Renji on his mussel. Renji growled loudly down at him and Byakuya let out a fake hurt noise. Ichigo quickly turned around from pouring cream into a bowl and could only assume what just happened, so he shouted, “Renji!”

Ichigo walked over with the bowl in his hand and sadly said, “Oh Renji. Come on now, outside.”

As he led an apologetic Renji outside, Ichigo softly said, “I know it isn’t easy, but at least we should try to get along together”.

Byakuya smiled at the result of his cunning acting and walked over to the door and sat down looking smug. “And that includes you, your majesty,” Ichigo glared at Byakuya while placing the bowl of cream in front of him.

Ichigo gathering up a bucket of dried corn before going outside to feed the farm animal. “Breakfast time, everybody up. Hurry. Come on everybody, breakfast,” Ichigo somewhat sang as he scattered the corn. Chickens flocked around him, pecking at the food. Ichigo scooped up a large handful corn and gave it to a large dark brown horse, Ganju, who ate out of Ichigo’s hand.

After a few minutes of simply watching the animals eat, Ichigo noticed the mice that came dashing out of the kitchen. He smiled down at them. "There you are," he said, "I was wondering where you had gone to. Well, eat up."

Ichigo dropped a handful of corn in front of the mice, who snatched it up greedily. Not long after, the chickens dashed in, pecking at the new food. When the dust cleared, Ichigo noticed that Chad was gawking around, foodless.

"Hey, beat it," Ichigo snapped, herding the birds away. He looked down, "Poor Chad…"

Ichigo laid another handful of corn in front of the new mouse. "Take your fill," he said with a smile before returning to feeding Ganju. Chad began taking the corn happily.

Once done with feeding the animals, Ichigo returned to the kitchen. He set a large kettle full of water to boil as he quickly made some porridge.

Ichigo noticed that Chad was sitting on the table next to the trays eating some of the corn that he was given. He just sat there observing Ichigo and wondered what the orange haired boy was up to.

Then the bells began to jingle, signaling that Ichigo's stepfamily was awake. He added the porridge to the bowls before hurrying over to the whistling kettle.

He poured the boiling water into the teapots and he noticed that Byakuya was playing with the teacups. Ichigo let out a huff, he did not have time for this. He shoved Byakuya out of the way before gathering the three trays up, one in either hand, the third on his head. He set out for upstairs, ignoring Byakuya who chose to follow him for reasons he didn’t know.

Near the top of the stairs Ichigo lost one of his cheap brown slippers. He sighed, spinning to slip it back on again. It was one of his unfortunate habits.

Reaching the landing, Ichigo crossed over to the first door, knocking lightly on it. He opened the door immediately afterwards.

"Good morning, Rukia, sleep well?" He murmured, trying to be kind. The petit girl glared at him from her messy bed.

"Hmph, as if you care," she sneered. Ichigo handed her the tray while ignoring the comment. Rukia pointed to some clean clothes, “Iron these, and have them back in an hour. One hour, you hear?” 

"Yes, Rukia," Ichigo muttered as he left, caring the clothes in a basket. He constantly had to remind himself to hold his tongue. He closed the door behind him, hurrying to the second door. He knocked lightly again before opening that door.

"Good morning, Orihime," he said softly. The orange haired girl glared at him.

"Well it’s about time. Don’t forget the mending, and don’t be all day getting it done either," she looked to the side, not bothering to return his greeting. Her dull orange hair was tucked up in her gaudy nightcap.

“Yes Orihime,” Ichigo handed her the tray and scooped up another basket of clothing. He left the busty girl to her meal and made his way to the last door in the hallway.

He knocked but waited for permission to enter. "Well come in child, come in," a cold voice called. Ichigo opened the door slowly before slipping inside.

"Good morning Stepmother," he greeted quietly. He walked over to the large bed and held out his last tea tray for the woman to take.

“Pick up the laundry and get on with your duties,” Yoruichi pushed her long purple hair out of her eyes and took the tray, not bothering to look at her Stepson. Ichigo shivered as he left the dark woman behind, glad those cruel golden eyes did not meet his.

Once outside the room, Ichigo took a deep breath before a scream shattered the silence. He did not notice the mouse that scurried out of Orihime’s room which was soon caught by Byakuya.

Orihime's door burst open and the pale busty girl rushed out as she shrieked, "Oh Mother, oh mother, mother, mother."

Her angry dull gray eyes fell on Ichigo and she pointed an accusing finger at the boy, "You did it. You did it on purpose."

Orihime dashed past him and towards her mother’s room as Ichigo watched on, dumbfounded. She continued to screech, "Mother, oh mother, mother, mother."

Rukia stepped out of her room and glared at Ichigo. "Now what did you do?" Rukia demanded as she rushed past Ichigo, who tried to ask what happened.

"He put it there, a big ugly mouse. Right under my teacup.”

 _Big ugly mouse_ , he thought to himself. _But I don’t -_ , Ichgo let out a small gasp, “Chad.”

He finally understood why Byakuya chose to follow him upstairs today. He looked down towards a very smug Byakuya. Frowning at the black cat, he said, "Alright Byakuya, what did you do with him?"

Byakuya shook his head signifying that he didn’t know. He brought up both front paws innocently, showing Ichigo that he didn't have anything. Ichigo frowned, "Oh you’re not fooling anybody, we’ll just see about this. Come on, let him go," he said as he reached down to grip the scuff of the cat’s neck. He tugged Byakuya up until he was only on one foot, but Byakuya was adamant not to be completely off the ground. Ichigo glared at him, "All of them."

Byakuya cringed and lifted his last foot to reveal Chad curled up in a little ball.

"Oh, poor little Chad," Ichigo cooed. Upon hearing his name the mouse looked up. Realizing he was free the mouse scurried into the closest mouse hole he could find. Ichigo scowled down at the cat, “Byakuya you should be ashamed of yourself.”

His scolding was interrupted by his very angry Stepmother’s voice, "Ichigo?"

He flinched and softly called back, "Yes, Stepmother?"

Seizing the moment to run, Byakuya darted into Yoruichi’s bedroom while Orihime and Rukia exited it. Orihime sneered at Ichigo, “Boy are you gonna get it.” He tried to ignore her as he walked past her.

Byakuya gleefully dashing to the bed and leaping up onto it. “Close the door Ichigo,” Yoruichi said as Ichigo walked through the doorway. The black cat curled up on the woman's lap, purring as his master began to stroke him.

“Come here,” Yoruichi added, and Ichigo walked up to the end of the bed.

Yoruichi just stared at him and he tried to say, "Oh please, you don't think that I-”

"Hold your tough," Yoruichi hissed. She slowly and calmly took a sip of the tea that Ichigo had brought her only a few moments ago. “Now, it seems we have time on our hands,” she said with a smirk.

Ichigo tried again, “But I was only trying to-”

“Silence!” she yelled. Yoruichi took a deep breath, “Time for vicious practical jokes. Perhaps we can put it to better use. Now like me see... There is the large in the main hall, clean it. And the windows upstairs and down, wash them. Oh yes, and the tapestries, and the draperies-”

Ichigo looked at her in shock, “But I just finish-”

"Do them again!" she snapped, glaring at him. "And don't forget the garden. Then scrub the terrace, sweep the halls and the stairs, clean the chimneys. And of course there’s the mending, and the sewing, and the laundry…" She took a long dramatic pause but Ichigo knew that she was not done, “Oh yes, and one more thing. See that Byakuya gets his bath."

Defeated, Ichigo's shoulders slumped. The look of disgust for baths on the cats face did nothing to soothe Ichigo's heavy heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That will do it for the second chapter of Like a Fairy Tale. I hope you all like it and if you feel like there is anything you think I can improve on, I'm all ears!


	3. Chapter 3

“No buts, my son has been avoiding his responsibilities long enough. It’s high time he married and settled down,” King Aizen stood up from his desk and slammed his fist down on the table out of frustration, making everything shake.

“Of course your majesty,” Gin, the Grand Duke, said as he slowly tried to walk out of the corner he had backed himself into, in fear of Aizen’s anger. “But we must be patient-”

“I am patient!” Aizen yelled throwing an ink bottle a Gin’s head, causing said man to scurry back into his corner. Breathing out a sigh of frustration, Aizen slid back down in his char and said softly, “I’m not getting any younger you know. I want to see my grandchildren before I go.”

Gin slowly walked up to his obviously depress king with and understanding voice “I understand sire-”

Aizen brought up his hand making Gin stop and back away, “No. No you don’t now what it means to see your only child grow farther, farther, and farther away from you.” With each “farther” he pointed to progressively bigger pictures of his son, Grimmjow. He got up and slowly walked over to Gin, rested his hand on Gin’s shoulder, “I’m lonely in this desolate old palace. I want to hear the pitter pater of little feet again.”

Trying to console his sad king Gin said, “Now, now your majesty. Perhaps if we just left him alone-”

“Left him alone. With his silly romantic ideas,” yelled Aizen, causing Gin to fall back onto the king’s table. Trying to get away from a raging Aizen, Gin scrambled away from the table and behind the kings chair. “But, but sire, in maters of love- ”

“Love? It’s just a boy meting a girl under the right conditions,” Aizen looked down at a pair of book holders, ones that he always kept on his desk, before picking them up. He held a book holder of a boy in one hand and a book holder of a girl in the other. He pressed then together before setting them back on the table, “So we’re arranging the conditions.”

Gin walked out from behind the kings chair and looked at the two book holders suspiciously, “But your majesty, if the prince should suspect-”

“Suspect? Look, the boy’s coming home today isn’t he?” Aizen sat on the table in front of him and scooted towards Gin, causing Gin to take a few steps back and bumped into the chair he was previously hiding behind.

“Yes sire,” he said meekly.

A mischievous smile spread itself along Aizen’s face, “Well, what could be more natural then a ball to celebrate his return. And if all the eligible citizens in my kingdom just happened to be there, why he is bond to show interest in one of them, isn’t he?” When he failed to get a response Aizen loudly reapeated, “Isn’t he?” which made Gin fall back in the king’s chair. It was a well-known fact that Prince Grimmjow did not show a primary interest in one gender versus another, so to cover all his basses, Aizen wanted to invite everybody he could.

With a woman, Grimmjow could have biological children. With a man, Grimmjow could always adopt. But children were children. And as long as Grimmjow had an heir, Aizen could not be happier.

“Yes sire,” Gin said again, just as meekly as the first.

Aizen scooted across the table to position himself in front of Gin, “And the moment he does… soft lights, romantic music, it can’t possibly fail. Can it?” Aizen swung his arms out and almost hit Gin. But in Gin’s attempt to avoid Aizen, the chair fall backwards onto the ground with a loud bang.  

Gin looked up at Aizen in a slight daz, “Yes sire. Uh n-no sire. Very well sire, I shall enrage the ball for-”

“Tonight,” Aizen said excitedly.

Gin was surprised to say the least, “Tonight, oh but sire-”

“Tonight! And see that every eligible citizen is there. Understand?” He barked out, forcing Gin to say yes, seeing as he was not going to take no for an answer.

“Yes your majesty,” Gin sighed out.

"Ok, girls," Yoruichi cooed quietly as she began to move her fingers over the keys of the piano, "Nightingale."

Orihime took up her flute and began to squeak out a tune. Rukia waited for her cue before beginning to sing. "Sing, sweet nightingale," she wailed, "Sing sweet nightingale."

Yoruichi nodded along with their tunes, happy with how talented her children were. Byakuya tried hiding under anything that would block out their ‘music’.

"Hi-i-i-i-igh, above me," Rukia continued, glaring at Orihime for playing her flute to high.

Byakuya scrambled out the door and closed it behind himself to block out the terrible sounds that were comming from that room. He hurried towards the stairs but stopped suddenly at hearing a, for once, beautiful voice. Byakuya looked down the stairs and was shocked to see that it was Ichigo singing the same song as Rukia.

He rushed down the stairs, seeing Ichigo scrubbing at the floor on his hands and knees. Byakuya decide to sit and listen for a little while because he had never heard Ichigo sing before. That was until he saw a pan of freshly swept dust and dirt next to him. Getting an idea, he grinning evilly.

Ichigo continued to sing as he scrubbed the floors. He popped a couple of bubbles that were floating around him before wincing at the strains of music that managed to drift downstairs. Looking up, Ichigo saw that Byakuya had ruined his perfectly clean floors by running around with his dusty and dirty paws, making a large mess everywhere.

"Byakuya," Ichigo shouted. "You evil thing. I’m just going to have to teach you a lesson this time," he yelled while sitting up and grabbing for his broom, aiming to hit Byakuya with it.

However, a loud knocking at the door made Ichigo stop in his tracks. He hurried over to answer it and was shocked to see a young messenger of the King standing there. The brown haired boy grinned up at him.

"Message in the name of the King, an urgent notice from his Imperial Majesty" he announced all too loudly, holding out the envelope.

"Thank you," Ichigo said, giving a slight bow before taking it. He closed the door when the boy suddenly walked away, obviously in a rush. He looked it over before sighing.

"He said it was urgent," he muttered. "I guess I'd better interrupt their 'music' lesson," Ichigo chuckled to himself before winced slightly as the music’s volume increased. He sighed, heading up the stairs to the door that was blocking some of the defining sound.

Rukia continued to sing, trying to ignore Orihime's flute as it almost hit her in the face. However, Orihime's index finger got caught in one of the flute holes which forced her to hold the note, and Rukia had to continue her own note until Orihime finally got her finger unstuck. Rukia glared at her sister and took Orihime’s flute, smacking her over the head with it. "You clumsy fool, you did that on purpose," she shouted and Orihime glared at her.

"No, you’re always getting in my way," Orihime shouted back in reply. They began to argue until Yoruichi interrupted them.

"Girls, girls," she said in warning, causing them to fall silent. "Remember above all, self control.”

A knock at the door sounded and Yoruichi's hands slammed down on the keys. "Yes?" she snarled as she turning to look at the door. It clicked open, revealing Ichigo. "Ichigo, I’ve warned you never to interu-”

"But this just arrived from the palace!" Ichigo exclaimed quickly, holding out an envelope.

"The palace," Orihime and Rukia shrieked in unison and ran over to Ichigo. The two girls snatched the letter out of his hands, and began to fight over it.

Sick of her daughters fighting, Yoruichi calmly reached over and took the letter out of their hands. “I’ll read it… Well, there’s to be a ball.”

"A ball," the girls echoed.

Yoruichi nodded, “In honor of his highness, the prince.”

“The prince,” both girls started jumping for joy.

"And by royal command, every eligible citizen is to attend," Yoruichi eyes shined with pure excitement.

“Why that’s us,” Rukia stated, followed by Orihime batting her eyelashes, “And I’m so eligible.”

"Why that means I can go to,” Ichigo said, interrupting the ‘girls only’ party. They turned their heads to stare at Ichigo, who simply smiling at them.

"Him? Dancing with the prince?" Rukia laughed.

"I'd be honored, your highness," Orihime laughed as she held her flute out to Rukia. "Would you mind holding my broom?" they made fun of Ichigo further with a terrible mock dance.

"Well, why not?" he demanded. "After all I'm still a part of this family. And it says by royal command, every eligible citizen is to attend”  

"Yes… So it does," Yoruichi sneered. Putting on a fake smile she continued, “Well I see no reason why you can’t go… If you get all your work done.”

"Oh I will. I promise!" Ichigo smiled as he ran to the door. However, he paused and turned back around when he heard Yoruichi talk again, “And if you can find something suitable to wear.”

“I’m sure I can,” he continued to smile. "Oh thank you stepmother," Ichigo rushed out of the room with determination and hope shining in his eyes.

"Mother," Rukia shrieked, "Do you realize what you just said?"

"Of course." Yoruichi shifted her gaze to both of her daughters and she smirked, "I said _if._ "

Orihime and Rukia grinned, "Oh… _if._ " Rukia looked towards Orihime with a cruel smile, and they both snickered.

"Isn't it lovely?" Ichigo asked with a grin as he gently pulled his mother’s old white and red silk kimono out of his memory box in his attic bedroom, "It was my mothers."

A small female mouse nod and said, “Yes, but it a bit old.”

This sleeves of the kimono were a solid red that faded into complete white by the time they reached the shoulders. Much like the sleeves, the bottom of the kimono was also a solid red that faded into complete white at his thighs. The rest of the dress was white except for two red under layers that peeked out above the high collar. However, one thing that was missing was a sash to tie pull the kimono together.

"Well maybe it is a little old fashioned," Ichigo said with a small smile. "But I can fix that," Ichigo hung the kimono on his only mannequin before scooping up a sewing book that was kept alongside the dress. “There ought to be some good ideas in here… Ah ha. This one," he put the book on the floor for all his friends to see. All the mice and birds gathered around the book and agreed that they liked the design that Ichigo picked out.

"I’ll have to widen the sleeves. I’d need a sash, and something to change the collar. I’ll-”

"Ichigo!" One of the sisters called from downstairs.

"Oh, know what do they want,” Ichigo chuckled slightly, to happy to care.

"Ichigo!" Both sisters yelled at the same time.

He sighed, tugging on the sleeve of his mother’s kimono before hurrying to the door, "Oh well, I guess my kimono will just have to wait.”

“Ichigo!” Now all three women were shrieking.

“All right, all aright. I’m coming” Ichigo grumbles as he rushing out of his room.

As Ichigo left, Ishida glared at the door. But more importantly, he glared that the voices behind the door, "Poor Ichigo. Every time he find a minute, that’s the time when they begin it. Ichigo, Ichigo.”

"Ichigo!" The females of the house shouted again. Ishida glared at the door and slammed it shut with his foot. He sighed heavily and said, "You know what, Ichigo not go to the ball."

"What?" a young female mouse called Tatsuki squeaked, "Why?"

"You’ll see. They fix him. Work, work, work. He’ll never get his kimono done,” Ishida sighed again.

The mice fell silent, looking around Ichigo's room with a sigh. Tatsuki looked over towards the book in front of her before glancing down at the box of sewing equipment. "Hey!" she squeaked, "We can do it!"

The other mice stared at her confused and she grinned at them, gesturing to the book. "We can do it," she repeated. "We can do it, we can help our Ichigo! We can make his kimono so beautiful. There's nothing to it really."

The other mice chattered excitedly as they began to plan how they would fix it. "I’ll cut it with the scissors," Chad cried out. Followed by Ishida who grabbed a needle, "And I can do the sewing!”

"Leave the sewing to the woman. You go get some trimming," Tatsuki said as she snatching the needle from his grasp before he hurt somebody with it.

Ishida and Chad nodded before darting off, ready to find material to add to Ichigo's kimono. The other mice and birds began to cut, sew and trim happily, ready to help the human who had shown them so much love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the irony between Ishida and Tatsuki there, but I couldn’t help it. I’m more or less just following the movies script, so sorry if I might have offended anyone. But come on, that part to me was priceless! Anyway, like always, thank you so much for reading and if you see anything that you think I can improve upon, I’m all ears!


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